


The consequences of superhero-ing

by MiriRainbowitz



Series: I (don't) love you [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 10:38:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18408926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriRainbowitz/pseuds/MiriRainbowitz
Summary: Oliver promised Tommy he'd go to Verdant's opening party, but that doesn't mean he has to like it.





	The consequences of superhero-ing

**Author's Note:**

> EJ came up with the title.

As Oliver drew closer to Verdant, the Vertigo-induced headache he’d been sporting all day got worse. It wasn’t exactly surprising, considering that tonight was Verdant’s opening night, which meant loud music he could hear a few blocks away, lots of flashing lights, and a very large amount of people.

Oliver _wanted_ to leave. He’d been out last night, chasing after the Count, but not only had the Count escaped, he’d managed to inject Oliver with Vertigo, and had had to fight off several goons after that. It was probably only the training he’d gotten in Nanda Parbat that had allowed him to survive. He’d gone back to his base, where the herbs from Lian Yu had allowed him to sleep off most of the high, but apparently the liquid form was longer-lasting than the pills, because he still felt a bit floaty, and the cacophony of noise and light wasn’t helping his headache at all.

But he had promised Tommy he’d be there, and there was nothing for Oliver Queen to do, and with his current physical impairments, it would be a lot more dangerous for Oliver to go out as the Vigilante. Besides, Tommy had invited all of the Smoaks to come, so there was a chance that he’d see Felicity there.

Oliver parked his motorcycle in the employee lot, pasted his publicity smile on his face, and walked in. Even with his senses a bit dulled by the remaining Vertigo, he still kept glancing around the room, his training insisting on looking for any kind of threats. As he looked around the room, he managed to catch eyes with Tommy, who started to make his way over.

“Oliver!” Tommy exclaimed, pulling him into a hug and managing to hit one of his bruises. Oliver thought he concealed his wince pretty well. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up!”

“Sorry for being late, I had a rough night,” Oliver said. It was a pretty bad excuse, veering way too close to the truth, but his thoughts were too fuzzy to come up with anything else. At least Tommy would probably think he’d been out partying, instead of trying to catch the Count.

“It’s okay, man,” Tommy replied. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

“I said I’d show up,” Oliver said. “But – I’m probably not going to socialize much. I’ve had a headache all day.”

“There’s some ibuprofen in my office, if you want that,” Tommy replied.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Oliver said. “I’ll be back down later.”

As he was heading towards the office, Oliver caught a flash of blond hair and a pink dress by the wall, and he turned to see Felicity standing there, a mostly untouched drink in her hand and a bored expression on her face.

Oliver didn’t move as his thoughts fought with each other. Ibuprofin and about half an hour of minimal exposure to all of the clamor would do wonders for his headache and aches, but Felicity might not be there when he returned.

In the end, as seemed to be the case whenever he was around Felicity, he found himself walking towards her. It was really extraordinary, how he lost so much of his self-control when it came to her.

“Hey, Felicity,” he said as he approached her, and as she looked up, he thought he saw an expression of annoyance appear on her face, but it was quickly replaced by a smile that made his heart flutter.

“Oliver. Hi,” she replied, then didn’t say anything else. That was fine with Oliver, though – he was content to admire her face in silence.

They were silent for a few minutes, then Felicity suddenly decided to speak. “So, this is – quite an opening party,” she said.

“Tommy’s good at planning parties,” Oliver replied. “I just offered some advice.” He kind of expected Felicity to keep on talking, but she said nothing, and Oliver found himself just staring at her face again.

It was another few minutes before Felicity spoke again. “You know, I was kind of hoping that some conversation would come with company,” she said. “So you should probably – I don’t know, talk about how nice the club looks or how many people are in it.”

Oliver smiled. “I can talk about whatever you want me to.”

“That’s not a very helpful reply, but thanks for indulging me, even though you’d probably rather remain silent,” Felicity replied. “Actually, since I usually babble even more at public events, it’s probably best that we remain silent. Besides, I’m not even sure what we’d talk about. It’s not like we really have all that much in common.”

“Well… does your family usually go to Porter’s?” Oliver asked. If they did, there was a distinct possibility he might start going there more.

“Yeah. Dad’s been taking us there since all us were kids. Plus it’s kind of well known, so we get to meet a lot of new people,” Felicity replied. “I was actually talking to a new acquaintance when you and Tommy showed up.”

Oliver felt a surge of rage at Felicity’s mention of Slade. He’d thought, after he’d paid Slade off, that he’d washed his hands of him entirely, but not only was he in Oliver’s hometown, he’d managed to ingratiate himself with Felicity and her family. It was infuriating, but killing him would put an end to his suffering, and Oliver _needed_ to see him suffer for what he did to Thea.

“Slade is pretty good at making friends,” Oliver said tightly. “Keeping them is another matter entirely.”

“Like you?” Felicity replied. “Which is no doubt terrible for him.”

Oliver would have loved for that to be true, but Slade had seemed to be doing decently when he’d seen him at Porter’s. He was about to reply, but before he could, he heard Felicity’s mother call her name.

“Mom,” Felicity said tightly as she came closer. “What are you doing?”

“Tommy and Laurel have barely left each other’s side,” Donna said smugly as she pointed at them, which prompted Oliver to look at them. “Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re engaged in less than a year. He’s such a catch, and he’s clearly head over heels for her. Just think, Laurel marrying a billionaire.”

Oliver only half heard Donna talking. He was observing Tommy and Laurel, and what he saw was troubling. Donna was right about Tommy – he was clearly in love with her, but Laurel’s expression was too neutral for someone who was in love. Isabel seemed to be right, after all – Tommy would probably get his heart broken by Laurel.

“Mom, Oliver Queen is right here,” Felicity replied. “You shouldn’t say stuff like that where he can hear.”

“Does it look like I care about his opinion?” Donna asked.

“Mom, just – please. Go brag to someone else,” Felicity pleaded.

“Fine,” Donna said, then walked off. Oliver frowned. His head felt like it was about to split open, so Oliver regretfully said goodbye to Felicity and hurried to the office.

Once he had taken the Ibuprofen, Oliver went down to the basement, which was dark and quiet. He knew what he needed to do- get both himself and Tommy out of this town as soon as possible. He couldn't watch Tommy get his heart broken by Laurel Smoak, and he needed to get Felicity out of his head. The distance would help.

With that decided, he pulled out his phone and texted Isabel. _How long will it take us to get out of this town for good?_

**Author's Note:**

> I just started a gofundme to get a hysterectomy. You can donate directly [here](https://www.gofundme.com/1nuiu3v7w0) or reblog [this post](https://dammmithardison.tumblr.com/post/185472729795/click-here-to-support-hysterectomy-organized-by) to spread the word.


End file.
